‘The Rex Burkhead of Women’s Basketball’

By NU Athletic Communications

| 02/17/2013

Randy York's N-Sider Blog

The Official Blog of the Huskers

Before we begin, please understand today’s
N-Sider is a history lesson, a geography challenge and a supreme
compliment all rolled into one. This blog ties two well respected Husker
walk-ons – offensive lineman Brodrick Nickensand basketball guard Mike Peltzwith Jordan Hooper, one of the hottest Division I women’s basketball players in the country.

It’s a history lesson because all three
current Nebraska student-athletes and three former Husker
student-athletes – women’s basketball legend Amy Stephens, men’s twice Academic All-Big 12 basketball centerTony Wilbrandand Randy Borg, a walk-on who succeeded Johnny Rodgersas Nebraska’s punt returner – are all linked with one of the nation’s most popular Super Bowl commercials through Paul Harvey. We’ll explain that later, but let’s get to that supreme compliment
before “the rest of the story” – our personal tribute to
Harvey’s unique style and renowned tagline.

When Nickens came out of NU’s strength
complex Tuesday, we chatted a bit about another stellar Hooper
performance last night against Iowa on BTN and how the Alliance native
is on such a roll that she’s earned back-to-back Big Ten Conference
Player-of-the-Week honors. No one appreciates that kind of recognition
as much as Nickens, whose sister was a friend of Hooper’s in high
school.

“I love it when someone who grew up on a
ranch in the middle of the Nebraska Sandhills shows the world what she
can do,” Nickens said. “So many people think Nebraska starts in Omaha
and ends somewhere around Kearney, and that just isn’t true. I just feel
there’s a work ethic out there in the Panhandle that’s as good as
anywhere, and Jordan is proof of that work ethic. She’s quiet, very
quiet. She’s unique. She’s a different person, but a really good person.
I’ve tried to think about someone she reminds me of, and I would say,
to me, she’s The Rex Burkhead of Women’s Basketball.
She just does everything possible to get better every day. She’s a
really, really, really good person, and what you see is what you get.
She’s as honest as they come.”

A year ago, we wrote an N-Sider describing how Hooper took a different road to stardom,
how she chose her path carefully, unselfishly and masterfully and how
she was fortunate to arrive in Lincoln one year after point guard Lindsey Moore,
who counsels her, motivates her, laughs with her, cries with her, rooms
with her and even travels with her to visit what most might consider
one of the loneliest places on earth to grow up.

A Personal Experience with a Legendary Man

And that takes us to the late, legendary radio broadcaster Paul Harvey, whose two-minute Super Bowl commercial resurrected his ‘So God made a farmer’ speech, a commercial that “transfixed” Kearney Hub columnist Lori Potter, who obviously believes Nebraska stretches well west of what she calls home.

With more than 10 million Internet views,
that commercial made Paul Harvey relevant again. The nostalgic
application from his 1978 address to the Future Farmers of America brought
millions of Super Bowl viewers back to our roots. I found it
interesting that so many photos of ranchers were featured in a “farmer”
video, and that certainly connects more with Hooper. But so would a 1968
Paul Harvey piece that Alliance KCOW Radio put together four decades
later.

Both Paul Harvey audio files resonate with me because I was working at the Alliance Times-Herald that summer in 1968 when Gene Kemper,
our legendary publisher, asked if I would like to pick up Mr. Harvey
that Friday at the Alliance Municipal Airport, then drive him into town
where he would be the featured speaker for the Alliance Chamber of
Commerce Annual Banquet. As an intern earning money for his sophomore
year of college, I was more than honored. I was thrilled because I grew
up listening to Paul Harvey each and every day.

The following Monday in 1968, during lunch hour, I
tuned into KCOW and couldn’t help wondering if an American broadcasting
icon would even mention Alliance. To my complete surprise, after his
news segment, Paul Harvey devoted his three-minute editorial that day to our unpretentious hometown, heaping heavy praise on our hard-handed cowboys and sod busters.
Four years ago, when I had the opportunity to speak at the Alliance
Chamber of Commerce Banquet, we played Paul Harvey’s radio tribute to
Alliance. And, just as his voice-over Super Bowl commercial did, his
words are as relevant now as they were in 1968. Listen to this vault of Alliance history. It
stands the test of time, and I would bet that many Alliance natives and
even current residents will be surprised when they hear certain facts
they didn’t know or forgot about. With that in mind, we end this blog in
honor of a revered broadcaster … Paul Harvey … Good Day!

I
enjoyed reading your story about small-town athletes but truly appreciated your
tribute to Jordan Hooper. It is so ironic that you call her the Rex
Burkhead of Women’s Basketball. I have been relating the two athletes that
way all season. I am a season ticket holder for women’s basketball and know how
hard all the ladies work to be what they are, but Jordan is on a higher
platform of hard work to me, just like Rex is. Jordan can be found many nights
and early mornings on the practice court, shooting and working on her game. You
do not find people like Jordan very often. I am sure glad we did. Players
in the future should be saying, “I want to be the Jordan Hooper of Women’s Basketball!!” Great piece!
Bill
Rethmeier, Crete, Nebraska

Thank you for sharing the greatness that is
Alliance. Thank you for telling the stories of the three kids making a
difference in Lincoln. And thank you for making this Alliance kid aware
of the Paul Harvey story. I am now calling my parents (my dad was a high school counselor and my mom a pharmacist)
so I can ask why in the world did I not hear this before. Yes, like the
young ones Paul references, I left Alliance and, ironically, now live
in that awful orgy of ugliness. Thank you. Jason Reno, Chicago, Illinois

I really enjoyed your Alliance/Paul Harvey
column. If memory serves me correctly, Marv Toedtli and I made a banner
out of a newsprint “end-roll” from the Times-Herald that day to welcome Paul Harvey to Alliance. It didn’t last too long though because the wind was blowing hard at the airport.Anyway, Alliance is a great town with great people! Keep up the outstanding reporting. Doug Edwards, Hastings, Nebraska

I am not an Alliance native, but I am a Nebraska
basketball fan, and I’ve commented before how unusual it was to have an
Alliance player play an important role on each team this season. Mike
Peltz was a scrappy sixth man until knee surgery took him out. He played
hurt most of the season, and you have to admire how tough he was. That
work ethic in the Sandhills must have something to do with it. Jordan
only has only one speed, and that’s all out. Her effort is fun and
fascinating to watch. I bet all the locals are tired of hearing that
Alliance is the home of Car Henge. It’s also the home of Jordan Hooper,
Amy Stephens and everyone else who contributed to the Huskers. Now that
Paul Harvey has informed us that Alliance had the first touch-tone
phones in America and was the source of inspiration for Dale Carnegie,
maybe the next time I drive through Alliance on the way to the Black
Hills, I’ll stop, check it out and see what makes it so special. Robert White, Omaha, Nebraska

The “Rex Burkhead of Women’s Basketball” story
was a great read for all of us out here in the Panhandle, and we
appreciate your permission to publish the story in the Alliance Times-Herald. Aaron Wade, Times-Herald Director of Operations, Alliance, Nebraska

Thanks for sharing. It’s always good to
remind us of what a great place Alliance really is. We can be
justifiably proud of our hometown kids, including Jordan, Mike and
Brodrick. Dorothy Kunzman, Alliance, Nebraska

Thanks so much for the great story on Alliance and the star athletes that have come from here. Our proud
heritage lives on.The Brew crew were born and raised in Alliance, and
we proudly talk about our home town whenever we represent Nebraska as
the Husker Elvis brothers. Our past, present and future endeavors have
been, are and will be the result of our honest upbringing in this small
but special town in Western Nebraska. God bless Alliance and God bless
Nebraska! Larry Brew, Alliance, Nebraska

Thank you for another excellent piece of
journalism with our hometown, Alliance, as the subject matter. I have
enjoyed watching both Jordan Hooper and Mike Peltz play this year and
was saddened that Mike was out with a knee injury. What a hustler he is!
When I think about it, work-ethic is what made that part of the state
so remarkable. I know I grew up with role models at every turn that
taught me the importance of work ethic, and you, too, are a product of
that way of living. Andrea Durfee, Lincoln, Nebraska